The Government is analyzing implementing the fund by decree and estimates that, with the progress of privatizations and the sale of public assets, it could raise between $1.5 billion and $3000 million to finance military retrofitting.
In this debate, the National Defense Fund (FONDEF), created in 2020 with the objective of financing military re-equipment, appears as an immediate reference. This standard had established a specific allocation for the recovery, modernization and incorporation of material for the Armed Forces. However, the Budget Act 2026 repealed the central paragraph that guaranteed its automatic source of funding, opening the stage for new funding alternatives such as the one now being evaluated by the
The national government is considering moving forward with the creation of a specific fund for the purchase of weapons and the re-equipment of the Armed Forces, financed with 10% of the proceeds from the sale of State assets. The initiative is part of the new phase of structural reforms promoted by the administration of Javier Milei and which seeks to deepen during 2026, combining the reduction of state assets with strategic investments in defense
.As analyzed in the Casa Rosada, the scheme aims to allocate part of the revenues from privatizations, the sale of land and other public assets to reinforce the country's military capacity. In the ruling party, they are considering implementing the measure through a decree or even through a broader regulatory tool, in line with the acceleration of the process of modernization of the
State.
Within the Government, they argue that the plan is part of the new phase of the state reform that the libertarian administration intends to deepen next year. The idea is to link a portion of the extraordinary resources generated by the sale of assets with capital investments for Defense, which would make it possible to simultaneously advance two central objectives of the official program: to reduce public assets considered unproductive and to strengthen the material structure of the Armed Forces
.The project is currently supported by two parallel tracks. On the one hand, the Executive has already enabled new tools to carry out the privatizations provided for in the Basic Law and its regulations. On the other hand, the State Property Management Agency has a free way to promote the sale of national properties that were declared “unnecessary for state management”. Among these assets are different properties - including some linked to forces - on which the ruling party has set its sights in recent months
.In the presidential environment, they recognize that the most delicate point of the project does not lie in the sale of the assets, but in the destination of the funds obtained. The Financial Management Act (24,156) establishes that resources with specific implications must arise by law, which opens up a legal discussion about the possibility of creating such a fund by means of a simple decree. In Balcarce 50 they admit that this legal engineering is still under study
The Executive assures that the scheme aims to sustain a military retrofitting package that goes beyond the purchases already made. The national State has already activated the incorporation of Stryker armored vehicles for the Army, is maintaining the F-16 acquisition program along with pilot training and has also made official funding for light naval helicopters for the Navy. In addition to these projects, there are open initiatives related to submarines and ships, among other
strategic investments.
At Casa Rosada, they estimate that, if the privatization process and the sale of land and other public assets are accelerated, the fund could raise between $1.5 billion and $3 billion in different stages. The official bet is that this fund will make it possible to sustain large military purchases without all the burden falling on current Treasury revenues, thus strengthening long-term defense planning
.In parallel, the Government seeks to accelerate the privatization map planned for 2026, one of the pillars on which the income projection of the possible fund is based. Within the ruling party, they point out that the most advanced processes include Intercargo, Belgrano Cargas and AYSA. At the same time, Correo Argentino is progressing under a concession scheme, while other files, such as the Nucleoelectric one, continue at a slower pace
.In addition, the Executive's technical teams are also working on plans linked to SOFSE, YCRT and new sections of Road Corridors, initiatives that are part of the structural redesign of the public sector promoted by the administration of Javier Milei and that could provide key resources to finance the strengthening of the Armed Forces in the coming years.
